Yet writing, a phenomenon of only the past 5,000 years, was a latecomer in human development. It required representational capacity and the dawning idea that a tool in hand could preserve our thoughts and share them across time and space.

The story of Helen Keller, rendered blind and deaf from a fever as a toddler, is a poignant testimony to the human capacity to find meaning through the hands and through language.

It was Anne Sullivan, her teacher, who stayed by her side as a lifelong sojourner and unlocked the world. She gave Helen her freedom through a constant flow of finger-spelling into her young pupil’s hand.

The hands attach humans intimately to the grand adventure of our Earthly existence. The child’s first 2,000 days are full of adventure, discovery, making connections and learning the world — especially through the hands. In turn, the child is laying down the bundles of neuro-circuity in the cognitive, linguistic, motor domains that underpin literacy.

Language in these early moments of life, provided mostly by parents or primary caregivers, is what supports these processes. It is through back-and-forth, or “serve-and-return” kinds of conversations that such language grows. With attentive adults who take an interest in children’s hands-on learning, children grow and gain capacities to be ready for school and to keep up with school.

There is no question that we live in the 21st century of digital devices that compete for a child’s time and attention that open other possibilities for knowing and learning. But the digital world can wait.

There is no substitute for physical play, language, adult engagement and the crucial hand-brain connection that underpins all that is to come.

Fine motor skills are those involving the small muscle groups in the hands, fingers and wrists that are needed for gripping and grasping. In turn these are used for handling pencils, erasers, scissors and cutlery, for example. Precision and co-ordination of these small muscles is so important to school readiness.

The Ages and Stages Instrument, a screening tool to detect children’ developmental abilities, expects a five-year-old to be able to cut a straight line, copy shapes and draw a figure.

Schools collect this data through a screening tool that captures children’s development in different areas: physical health; social competence; emotional maturity; language and cognitive development; communication skills and general knowledge.

Such learning occurs through continuous, sensitive windows of opportunity that open and close as children become ready for more experiences. Visually mediated simulations on a screen are no substitute for this direct experience.

Nature and nurture interact in a complex ecology. The Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky taught the importance of the socio-cultural contexts in which children develop and learn with someone more experienced. With encouragement and talking together, children master budding skills when they receive just enough challenge to take the next step.

The child’s first 2,000 days are precious ones that teachers cannot “pay back” once lost.

A deep pool of internalized knowledge is necessary for children to become critical thinkers, problem solvers and savvy, literate users of language. The single biggest predictor of what children will learn next is what they already know. Access to Google doesn’t count.

We welcome your feedback and encourage you to share your thoughts. We ask that you be respectful of others and their points of view, refrain from personal attacks and stay on topic. To learn about our commenting policies and how we moderate, please read our Community Guidelines.